In the essay Machosky discusses how, although Milutinovic’s work was mostly about her own experiences and those of her immigrant husband, she reworked a short story about an encounter with a young Aboriginal girl more often than any other story. In its various versions, the story shows a white Australian woman’s attempt to understand her own reactions and responsibilities to the Aboriginals and the social and economic challenges they face.

“Girl in a White Dress: The Voices of Iris Milutinovic” is based on archival research at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas Austin, which houses her papers, including drafts of unpublished materials on which the article is based. Machosky’s research was sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Research Fellowship from the Ransom Center and a grant from the UH Endowment for the Humanities.

Machosky is the coordinator for the Center of Teaching and Learning Excellence at UH West Oʻahu where she teaches drama, world literature, pre-1700 literature and writing. After receiving her doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she held a three-year postdoctoral position at Stanford University and a one-year visiting assistant professorship at Cornell University.